Andrew Stewart Poop 09

Buy New or Used through amazon OR @ eMusic1. Avett Brothers/I and Love and You:
These shaggy bluegrass underdogs make some questionable choices, going for big production and an even bigger sound, and somehow come up with a kind of a masterpiece. Chock full of fantastic songs – epic piano ballads and twangy rockers – this album sounds like they’ve been planted, tended, watered, blossomed, and grown ten feet high. Stunning.

Buy New or Used through amazon2. Wilco/Wilco (The Album):
Every hipster critic’s favorite target, this lean, muscular pop-oriented set stands up to anything else released this year. The world’s greatest band delivers again.

Buy New or Used through amazon OR @ eMusic3. Trainwreck Riders/The Perch:
Like Still Feel Gone-era Tupelo crossed with the Meat Puppets, this slab of pulverizing country punk will have you pounding your steering wheel and singing out, loud.

Buy New or Used through amazon OR @ eMsuics4. John Vanderslice/Romanian Names:
A magnificently understated album from this always-solid veteran, with elements of Roxy Music, TVOTR, and Spoon. Hyperintelligent, spare, and awesome.

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5. Dawes/North Hills: Like The Band meets Gram Parsons via Crazy Horse, this is the year’s biggest surprise. What at first sounds simply folky becomes a solid folk-rock classic. Truly an A+.

Buy New or Used through amazon OR &nbsp: @ eMusics6. Phoenix/Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix:
Despite their provenance – who doesn’t love to hate the French? – there’s no denying that this is a fantastic, infectious pop-rock album. Hear it.

Buy New or Used through amazon OR @ eMusic7. M. Ward/Hold Time:
M. Ward continues to blossom with this gentle acoustic rock album, song after shimmering song that you seem to know by heart after just one listen. America’s best songwriter.

Buy New or Used through amazon OR @ eMusic8. Deer Tick/Born on Flag Day:
This filthy little album will pump your gas, kick your ass, and then buy you a beer. Weird, nasally, retro-billy shit that’s scrappy and just plain rocks from start to finish.

Buy New or Used through amazon OR 9. Say Hi/Oohs and Aahs:
Smart, sharp and syncopated, this one sounds like Lotion meets The Pixies with a pinch of Squeeze, setting a moody mope-rock tone that never lets up.

Buy New or Used through amazon OR @ eMusic10. The Thermals/Now We Can See:
A peppy little punk-pop album full of songs about love, death and the ocean. Like Stiff Little Fingers in desperate need of psychotherapy.

11. Built To Spill/There Is No Enemy:
Doug Martsch delivers a surprisingly tight, focused rock album that also manages to stretch out for a spell and, for fans, satisfies a unbearably long three-year jones.12. Motel Motel/New Denver:
Weird as hell and even more annoying, this amalgam of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Glands, and Radiohead should suck, but it doesn’t. Unique, and spectacular.13. Fruit Bats/The Ruminant Band:
If Ray Davies joined The Shins, you might get this bright, shiny, ragtimey pop album. These guys never sounded so…awake. Great.14. Lucero/1372 Overton Park:
Slobberbone meets Springsteen, with horns. Sounds like smoky barrooms, gravel roads and warm whiskey; a smoother, fuller version of their traditionally raw sound.15. The Dexateens/Singlewide:
Drive-By Truckers meet the Jayhawks, singin’ songs about the southland. Takes a while to warm up, but sticks to your ribs.16. Dan Auerbach/Keep It Hid:
The Black Keys meet Al Green.17. Kevin Devine/Brother’s Blood:
Elliott Smith meets Ben Gibbard18. Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band/Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band:
Wolf Parade meets The White Stripes19. Yo La Tengo/Popular Songs:
More relaxed and inviting than they’ve been in quite a while20. The Mountain Goats/The Life of the World To Come:
Ambitious, patient, and whip-smart21. The Dodos/Time to Die:
A sweet, ripe percussive pop album that’s a real evolution of their sound22. Thao and The Get Down Stay Down/Know Better Learn Faster:
Odd-voiced rocker adds horns on this album focused on love and heartbreak. Like Juliana Hatfield covers PJ Harvey. Wild.23. Tim Easton/Porcupine:
Tom Petty meets Van Morrison for a skiffle session24. The Shaky Hands/Let It Die:
Imagine the Pixies covering Exile on Main Street25. Neko Case/Middle Cyclone:
Never really gets off the ground, but her voice! Her voice.